Thursday, October 26, 2017

Our Halloween Weekend Hard Rock Concert Previews!!

The Halloween weekend is coming quick, but unusually, there isn't a lot of hard rock shows going down this weekend for the occasion compared to past years. That said, there's some big shows going on downtown for fans to partake in and get their costumes ready for, so here's what you should know in rough chronological order!

We'll start this weekend's previews with the talented solo artist whom we started with yesterday, as prolific hard rock singer/guitarist Tym Morrison will bring his ongoing weekly concert arrangement back to Gliss Steak & Seafood for three more unplugged matinee gigs TONIGHT, TOMORROW, and SATURDAY to end the month with! No public word on if Tym's shows this weekend will have any Halloween themes, but expect more solid and extensive sets of classic and hard rock covers for patrons and fans alike this weekend, so don't miss out on all of the action at the Quality Inn's house restaurant over the next three evenings! Yes, we will acknowledge Tym's likely November gigs at Gliss next week. As usual for his shows at this downtown locale, expect 6:00 PM start times all three evenings, and there are no announced cover charges or age limits, but mind the locale. Visit the official Facebook event page for more details, and here's Tym live!

Next up, here's the weekend's main event if you want metal or punk entertainment in the Soo for the Halloween weekend, as local promoter J.D. Pearce (in association with the Northern Superior Brewing Company) is hosting his 13th annual Halloween party concert this weekend! Returning to The Algonquin Pub/Spin Nightclub for the fifth time in six years, he's going even bigger for year #13, with two parties planned for TOMORROW & SATURDAY NIGHT each, so what should you know on both? Toronto groove metal band Decatur (formerly known as Caym) will return to our area with new name in tow as headliners, and they should brutalize fans with the aggressive thrashy sound all over again during their Out of the Sewer Tour! No word on if they'll reprise their "MetalliCaym" set from 2015's local Halloween party, but the opening lineup will handle that side of things, including local punk/metal quintet Jack Spades covering The Misfits under the name "Spinal Remains", which will be right up their alley, so they should hit a home run!

Local death metal favourites The Bear Hunters will tackle Amon Amarth (including the entire "Twilight of the Thunder God" album) tomorrow under the name "Mount Doom", with Jack Spades' Daniel Horton filling in for Josh Stephney in a rare set of theirs with a guest guitarist, so prepare for some face melting from them too! The announced openers are new local Foo Fighters tribute band (and Cherry Crush side project) The Soo Fighters, and it will be interesting to hear them in their second live appearance, so don't be late! This show has an $8 cover charge, 19+ age limit, and 9:00 PM start time, so visit the official Facebook event page for details, and here's Decatur live!

As for Saturday night's second half of the Halloween Party, this all-local lineup is more punk-based, and has more of an unpredictable lineup, so who all is on board? The advertised headliners are hard rock quartet Eclipse in a reprise of last year's "SSM of a Down" tribute set, while a (one-off?) Me First and the Gimme Gimmes tribute band named "You First & The Passive Aggressives" will also take the stage prior. A personal Facebook posting indicates that former Caveman Morrison & Winkstinger bassist Ryan Disano will be in their lineup, alongside trumpet player Will Newfeld, but I can't confirm anything else at press time on this band. Former Stereo North frontman Andrew Pucci will be joined by Long Shot alum Adam Dawe and former Gnaeus drummer Brendan Garlick(!) to form the Blink-182 tribute band "Enema of the Soo", while a mystery Nirvana tribute band named "Anavrin" (get it?) are the listed openers, though I know even less on this band.

Note that a planned Sublime tribute set by The Elements under the name "SSMtaria" for Saturday night is still listed on the Facebook event page, but is not on the poster, and the band has not publically acknowledged the party that I have seen, so it appears that they dropped out. If they are still on, we'll let you know! Like with tomorrow's half, Saturday's Halloween party action has a 19+ cover charge, 9:00 PM start time, and despite the all-local lineup, a matching $8 cover, though buy yours online or message J.D. at this link for a discounted full-weekend pass while supplies are available. Also, as this is the Halloween weekend, expect nightly costume contests, with J.D. hinting at Northern Superior Brewing Company gift cards being on hand this weekend, presumably as prizes. Fans dating back to the mid-2000s know the quality & entertainment level of J.D.'s annual Halloween parties, and with double the action this weekend, you won't want to miss out, so get your costumes ready for two nights of tribute metal, punk, and hard rock action! Here's Eclipse covering System of a Down live!

That's all for now, but stay tuned for this month's YouTube Channel Profile next! Thanks everyone!